[PRCo] Changes (Was So you can't get to Pittsburgh?)

[Ken & Tracie]

Jim Holland wrote:

>    But I
> do now question the massive expenditures necessary to Install And
> Maintain rail.

I believe I can say Charlie, Fred the Third, Paul Weyrich and quite a few
others (including me) share this concern. Some people are so radical, they
accuse anyone who questions the massive expenditures as being "anti-rail."

I remember how light rail was initially promoted as a low cost alternative
to heavy rail or high tech rail (BART).

Yes, the overhead structures used by PAT on Phase One are ugly. Yes, some of
the 1980s style light rail cars look like giant grasshoppers missing their
antennae, wings and legs. Yes, when I visit where I grew up and realize
things keep on changing (evolving?) in my absence, I get a feeling of
estrangement. The latter can be both disconcerting and humbling.

What I find special about Pittsburgh's retention and rebuilding of the South
Hills lines is that it brought together people of differing philosophies,
political bends and methods. The common goal of retaining a still viable
(though greatly diminished) rail network brought together so many who would
disagree on so many other things.

K.